DILI (TOP) - The Government of Timor-Leste through the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Coordinator for Economic Affairs, Minister of Tourism and Environment, Francisco Kalbuadi Lay has presented the Bill on Export Promotion-PPL No. 20/VII (2o) to the National Parliament.
In the public hearing, the Vice-PM explained that the Export Promotion Law is an initiative that constitutes a strategic step for Timor-Leste's economic development and strengthening integration into the global economy.
“It is with great honor that I come to this Commission to discuss the Export Promotion Bill and the relevance of its approval by the National Parliament. This law is an initiative that constitutes a strategic step for Timor-Leste's economic development and for strengthening integration into the global economy,” Vice-PM explained to members of Commission D in the plenary hall of the National Parliament on Wednesday, February 25, 2026.
The export sector is an essential pillar of Timor-Leste's economic development and the construction of a modern, diversified, and competitive economy. An exportable economy is one that can produce efficiently, generate value added, create jobs, and fully integrate into international markets.
Data from TradeInvest Timor-Leste that, currently Timor-Leste has exported products such as; coffee, dried nuts, dried seaweed, sugar and other products to countries such as Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Republic of Korea, United States of America, China and other countries in the world. With the exports that Timor-Leste makes in 2025, Timor-Leste has imported money amounting to US$ 325,028,272.59.
This Export Promotion Bill has Chapter IV (four) and twenty-three (23) articles. This law defines the basis of the legal framework for economic activity for the export and re-export of goods in Timor-Leste.
This law regulates administrative procedures to ensure freedom, guarantees and benefits to the exporter, conditions, obligations of the exporter to comply with laws and regulations in economic activity when exporting or exporting goods abroad. The law also aims to create a transparent and efficient environment for a system that centralizes exports in Timor-Leste in order to give confidence to exporters.
The benefits of this Export Promotion Law are: The Government can have a centralized export system so that relations between exporting companies and the various services involved in the export procedure will be coordinated through a single point of contact.
With a centralized system, the Government believes that it will be able to reduce exports from exporting companies to export goods or export goods abroad because they know or have their own connection with companies abroad.
The approval of this Law is: 1.) The international commitment that Timor-Leste has made to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in the post-accession phase. The Export Promotion Law is also included in twenty-one (21) legislation's that must be approved in the post-accession phase; 2.) Creation of a legal framework for export promotion that has a system to centralize exports.
